Michael L. Solomon

Michael L. Solomon is Senior Counsel in the Cohen Seglias Harrisburg office, and is a sitting appointee of the Dauphin County Board of Assessment Appeals. Michael concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate, administrative law, creditors’ rights, commercial transactions and corporate finance.

After months, maybe years, of planning, raising capital, obtaining permits and waiting out construction, your gleaming new building is open and occupied. Soon, you’ll get a simple, one-page letter from your county’s Tax Assessment Office. What should you do if that letter indicates that your property is worth about a half-million dollars more than your appraisal reflects? Every Pennsylvania property owner is entitled to an annual appeal of their property assessment through the real estate tax assessment appeal process. Knowing the value of your property, your tax liability and whether you can reduce your tax burden through an appeal is as critical as managing any other area of your financial portfolio.

Calculating your Property Tax and Fair Market Value (FMV)

In Pennsylvania, real property typically incurs school, city/township and county taxes. Each of the three taxes is assigned a millage rate, which is used to calculate the property’s tax liability. To calculate the total real estate tax owed, the total millage of all of the taxing authorities is multiplied by the property’s assessed value. It is important to note that tax assessment appeals only challenge the assessed value of your property, NOT the imposed millage rate. Millage rates are published on each county’s website.

About the construction Law practice group

Since the Firm was established in 1988, our attorneys have represented every potential party to a dispute on a construction project, including owners, developers, sureties, design professionals, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. We have litigated, arbitrated and mediated cases from Maine to Florida and from New Jersey to Hawaii. Over the years, we have worked for our clients on virtually every type of construction project including: major office buildings, stadiums, hospitals, shopping centers, condominiums, government buildings, bridges, water treatment plants, petro-chemical plants, highways, airports, factories, and schools.